BPL Community Profile

James Patsalides
(james@patsalides.com) -
BPL Lifetime Member

My Locale

New England

About Me

British fella living in New England. Restarted hiking kick early in 2009 after a lot of years off. Trying to get my 3 year old out on the trail as much as possible. Goals are to hike at least twice a month, every month, with at least one overnight, and ultimately to thru hike the AT by the time I'm 50.

All Forum Posts by James Patsalides

re: Need a Cooking System ...How about considering just taking 7 esbit tabs and a little piece of Ti or Al to sit the esbit on to burn it (unless you can get ahold of some fireproof material to sit it on???). Then, use a SUL w...

re: Not Your Eyes!David,
I think you can see the seams on the inner bug net... I had to look twice too, and I have "eagle eyes". It is deceptive, if you didn't check it, the photo makes it look like i...

Pack liner vs. Pack coverContractor bags are similar to compactor bags, perhaps half way between a regular garbage bag and a compactor bag. I've tried the home depot brand contractor bags and they were OK, bigger than ...

re: Trekking poles-who uses them?My poles are part of the lightweight solution, for me.
I have the gossamer gear LT4s (short) at ~3.5oz each. I use them almost all the time while hiking, although occassionally I do need to car...

re: Carryon luggage for a camping tripTheresa,
You might also check out LL Bean... (gotta love their life time guarantee!!!)... they have excellent ballistic luggage, I have the "wide-mouth" set for traditional travel. Great...

re: NEED HELP - EUROPEAN MEMBERS CHECK INJuston,
Hey! I'm heading to England on Friday, and will be checking our a pair of Treks for myself... I'll take a look there and see how much they are in GBP. I'd be happy to carry ...

re: New England (5 Night Max)Great list... one suggestion - how about replacing the Montbel Inner with an insulated vest - shave 2ozs... I have a BPL Caccoon UL-60 vest which I love for summer night toastiness. Enjoy!

re: Cuben Fiber HammocksThese hammocks are beautiful. Hate to see such a lightweight option taken off the table for the appropriate tree hanger...
FYI, my ENO hammock has (I think) a 250lb rating on the hammock itself...

Berghaus C7-65+10Used this bag for a couple of years on numerous hiking trips BEFORE getting into lightweight backpacking. As an example of a traditional backpack, it is one of the best out there. Berghaus' biof...

IKEA Plastic Cup (Orange)This super-cheap lightweight plastic cup form IKEA has become a core part of my cooking and eating system. The cup weights 1oz, and is insulating enough to use for tea or coffee, as well as cold drin...

Glaceau Smart Water 1 Liter bottleI started using these bottles in the late summer and I love them. I now have 3, 2x 1L and 1x 0.6L version. Two of them fit perfectly into the side pocket of my golite jam, or one slides perfectly do...

Berghaus Tech T Long SleeveThe Berghaus tech T long sleeve base layer is a top quality lightweight synthetic base layer designed by one of Europe's premier gear manufacturers. This is a summer base layer, roughly equivalen...

Cocoon Pro 90 QuiltFirst, I have to state for the record that this is my first quilt, so my review may be biassed by my happy transformational transition from bags to quilts!
I have used this quilt as part of an in...

Golite JamIf, like me, you're starting the journey into SUL backpacking, this is the perfect starter pack. Good size for a multi-day, but not so huge that you are tempted to put extra stuff into the pack. A...